When I read about having an “enlarged heart” (see Psalm 119:32), I realized that in order to have my heart enlarged I must fill it with things of the Lord, one of them being His Word. When I came home I decided to read the book of John, even though I have read it before. I wanted to get my love for reading the Word back into my heart. I also decided to start memorizing the Psalms, and have actually really enjoyed it. It is a challenge that helps me want to stay in the Bible, and meditate on it!

~ Carleigh
July 2009 Girls’ Journey

Download audio file (Testimony_200908_Rebecca.mp3)
Download MP3 (3 min)

~ Rebecca
July 2009 Girls Journey

August 19th one year ago marks the largest turning point in my life. It was on that day that, while on a Journey to the Heart, God pulled on my heart and convicted me to call my earthly father about a sin I had been hiding for years. In my journal that day, I wrote two sentences:

“August 19th, 2008: On this day, I begin a new path towards moral freedom.”

“O God who made these trees, let this moment be the title page of a new beginning.”

Little did I know how much God would fulfill those two statements of my heart. His method was simple: take my life, flip it upside down, and shake me out. Then flip me back over and fill my cup with His presence—His continual presence. Here are the three major areas He has affected the most in my life.

God’s Word is Living

Prior to Journey to the Heart, I never read my Bible. Never. I didn’t want to. I felt nothing when I did, and seriously doubted its inerrancy. I read many books on why the Bible was reliable, but the more I read, the more I doubted it. I liked Aquinas and Plato better, who gave logical reasons for what they stated, as opposed to the Apostle Paul’s way of stating spiritual matters as facts without any backing but Jesus’ work on the cross.

While as Journey to the heart, I discovered why the Bible is trusted by so many: it speaks to man’s heart. Read the Psalms and the words of Jesus, and one sees a depth that touches the weaknesses of man’s humanity like no psychologist ever could.

God’s Way of Life is Freedom

One year ago, I could have written St. Augustine word for word:

“But I was an unhappy young man, wretched as at the beginning of my adolescence when I prayed you for chastity and said: ‘Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.’ I was afraid you might hear my prayer quickly, and that you might too rapidly heal me of the disease of lust which I preferred to satisfy rather than suppress.”
(Confessions, VIII. vii)

Yet right now, comparing now to a year ago, I cannot remember the last time I lusted like I had before Journey. I cannot take any credit for this at all. It is an uphill struggle every day, and it takes but a moment to fall. But most of all God has remained faithful to me, in turning my heart towards Him and away from the lusts of the flesh. He has taught me His way of freedom, to live for Him and not for myself.

My father calls this concept the “spit-in-the-face theory” while the Apostle Paul calls it “dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The concept is the same: what I do is not conditioned upon what others do to me or what I want to do, but only upon what Christ has said is best to do. If someone shows me love, I show them love back because Christ commands it. If someone spits in my face, I show them love back because Christ commands it. My identity, and therefore my actions, aren’t circumstantial to this world, because my Master isn’t in this world, only in me.

God’s Presence is Salvation

As I mentioned earlier, before Journey to the Heart I didn’t read my Bible at all. Now, I feel I cannot get enough of it. Any time I miss a quiet time, God has a practical method for reminding me to seek Him and not earthly pleasures. The more time I spend in the word, especially in memorization and mediation, the more God reveals to me His truths.

Yet, faith is not religious belief in what we cannot understand, but the putting in action what we believe (see Hebrews 11). I cannot count the times in the past year God has tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You are a follower of Christ, Tim. You must live like one.” Only a few weeks after Journey, my computer crashed and I lost a lot of important files. Normally I would have put my fist through the nearest wall in frustration. But this time I felt a strange peace. I knew that God was still in control.

In front of my dying computer, I committed the outcome of whatever happened to God and determined to learn what God was trying to teach me through this occurrence. And He did teach me. I learned an amazing truth: when one looks for God in everything, one can always find Him and understand why His will is what it is.

Tim on a ministry trip to Malaysia with a young friend named Venyeshe

So many times over the last year these kinds of lesson has been pounded into me by God. Sometimes the lessons are painful, sometimes they bring great joy. But through it all, God has been faithful in His presence in my life, as He teaches me about faith, hope, and love.

Journey to the Heart, for me, was the beginning of a discovery, the discovery of God. This day is special to me because it marked not the beginning of a Journey, but the end of one, my search for full fellowship with God. Many more things have happened that have not been given here, and many more will happen yet. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

~ Tim
August 2008 Guys’ Journey

In previous months I had been convicted that the greatest hindrance in my relationship with God was fear, especially the fear that my brothers might follow in my cousin’s corrupt footsteps, making similar mistakes and thereby sacrificing their wonderful God-given potential to do great things!

Because of that fear, I found myself reacting harshly to my brothers and having a very difficult time loving them. I had surrendered my fears to God and given my brothers to Him in prayer a number of times before, but it was still laying as a heavy burden on my heart.

As I began reading Psalm 49, it was as if I had were reading it for the first time. Portions of the chapter seem to leap off of the page and my eyes filled with tears. “Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil? None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)… But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. Be not thou afraid…”

After this new reminder that He was so lovingly looking over those who are dear to me, I could again freely surrender all of my fears to Him, and trust Him with the future, because I know that He has a bigger purpose in mind than what I can see, and that He will work all things together for good!!

Since coming home, I have had a greater freedom to love my brothers and treat them in a Christ-like manner. I am truly thankful to God the eight younger brothers He has blessed me with, and through God’s grace, I am looking forward to continuing to improve my relationship with them!

~ Sarah
June 2008 Girls Journey

Matthew:

I went to Northwoods not sure what to expect on a Journey to the Heart. I had heard testimonies; but what was my experience of it going to be?  While going through the each day, the Lord deeply encouraged me with particular passages of scripture that gave new purpose and, in addition, forged a deeper desire to study and apply Christ’s commands.
Download audio file (Testimony_200810_Matthew.mp3)
Download MP3 (3 min)

Joshua:

Through embarking upon this Journey, I recognized anew the fruit that results from coming apart to rest a while. (See Mark 6:31.) The usual busyness to which we subject ourselves provides a natural tendency to overlook the needful thing of sitting at the feet of Jesus. For almost an entire week, the team reaped unspeakable joy (see I Peter 1:8) that comes through searching our hearts, acknowledging failure, meditating upon God’s Word, and partaking in one-accord prayer. I returned with a renewed vision, powerful tools, and the life changing principle of Psalms 119:165, “Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”
Download audio file (Testimony_200810_Joshua.mp3)
Download MP3 (4 min)

At the Journey to the Heart, away from all the noise and distraction of the world, I began to see God’s power through the individuals around me. They could pray with such power! Speaking blessings to each other and crying out to God had real meaning! At first I thought it was showy, extravagant zeal—as if like the priests of Baal, we were dancing and cutting ourselves on an altar for a god who wouldn’t really work the way we asked him to.

But when our group started to talk about secret sins and several of my teammates gave testimonies about how freeing it was to talk to their parents about their struggles, I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit and called my father to repent of something I had hid from him for three years. The freedom I felt was amazing! I couldn’t describe it, yet it was so real.

The next day our team got with another team to pray for a young man who felt he needed to call his parents concerning a secret sin. As we prayed together in one accord, I felt God’s Spirit pour out grace, humility, and strength, not only on the young man in the center of our circle but on all of us. I began to cry as I realized what I had been missing: God was real!

Over the next few days the Word of God became living to me. I now understand how easy it is to trust God: His Word explains the world better than any human reasoning and gives our lives principles to live by that are so true and cannot be found elsewhere.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to discover the power of the God of my Salvation at this journey!

~ Tim
August 2008 Guys Journey

The Psalm for that day was number 49, and God knew that was exactly the chapter that I needed to read.  I had been convicted a few months ago that the thing hindering me from having a “ten” rating in my relationship with God was fear, especially the fear that my brothers might follow in my cousin’s footsteps and make similar mistakes, and thereby sacrifice the wonderful God-given potential that they could otherwise have had in God’s service. Because of that fear, I found myself reacting harshly to my brothers and having a very difficult time loving them as my Lord desired me to. I had surrendered my fears to God and given my brothers to Him in prayer a number of times before, but it was still laying as a heavy burden on my heart.

As I began reading, it was as if I had been reading it for the first time. Portions of the chapter seem to leap off of the page and my eyes filled with tears. “Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil…?,” Psalm 49 said, “None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) … But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.  Be not thou afraid…”

After this new reminder that He was so lovingly looking over those who are so dear to me, I could again freely surrender all of my fears to Him, and trust Him with the future, because I know that He has a bigger purpose in mind than what I can see, and that He will work all things together for good!!

Since coming home, although at times it is still a struggle, I have had a greater freedom to love my brothers and treat them in a Christ-like manner.  I am truly thankful to God for each one of the eight younger brothers that He has blessed me with, and, through God’s grace, I am looking forward to continuing to improve my relationship with each one of them!

I am so very thankful to God for allowing me to have the privilege of going on my Journey to the Heart!!

~  Sarah, II Timothy 2:20-21
June 2008 Girls Journey

I’ve grown up in ATI and have heard the message spoken about how important it is to surrender to your authorities on several occasions, but refused to let the Lord use it in my life. I thought I could make it through on my own without my parents. I always told myself, “It’s just me and God…just trust in Him.” Satan wanted me to believe I was all alone and that I should not trust the authority of my parents because it would make me look like a horrible sinner, which is exactly what I am anyway. Satan had me believing that I could break the habits on my own. I truly thought I could separate myself from my sin without assistance, yet the whole time I was falling deeper and deeper into more sin.

But I forgot the rest of the puzzle that God commands of us, so no matter what I did or said the sin weighed even more heavily on my soul. The last piece is complete surrender to Godly authority. In Romans 6 Paul said, “What shall we say then, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?” I understood this with my mind, but not in my heart, and therefore could not apply it to my life. But now, in freedom from sin because I am under the authority of my parents, I have the freedom to live in the grace that God provided.

~ Drew
June 2008 Guys Journey

I came on the Journey not really knowing if I had anything major that God could take care of. I couldn’t recall any sins that I’d kept secret from my parents, so I thought these ten days were going to be a lot of little changes and give me a hunger for God’s Word. The first few days of the Journey, I found myself having a love for God’s Word like I’d never had before. The day of delighting in the Lord came and I felt like something was missing that God was convicting me of, but I still could not see entirely.

Download audio file (Testimony_Camara_Kulp.mp3)

Download MP3 (1.25 min)

~ Camara
June 2008 Girls’ Journey

The Lord showed me many things during the week of the Journey that I needed to deal with. I loved each morning and the three hours we had to spend with God uninterrupted. The only down side was not having that much time when I returned home, I felt like I was starving. The Lord is still working in my life and I feel I have never had such a relationship with Him. I prayed with my team for some specific things, God has far surpassed my prayers for what He would do. Praise God!

~ Hannah, Gal. 2:20
March 2008 Girls’ Journey